ISIS issues propaganda magazine in Russian

Al-Rahman corps and the Islamic Union for Recruiting the Levant carry their weapons as they pose for a picture during a military training in Marj Al-Ashari, eastern Ghouta of Damascus, May 22, 2015. (Reuters / Mohammed Badra) / Reuters

Islamic State has issued the first edition of a propaganda magazine in the Russian language. Appealing to the would-be terrorists, the publication features a "brief history" of the militant group and calls for readers to support it.

Proclaiming itself to be an "information and analytical
magazine of Islamic State," the two-dozen page publication
features stories on Russian jihadis in Syria and Iraq. Saying
that the magazine's contributors "have been fighting in the
Caucasus against Russian tyrants," the story adds that the
militants experienced difficulties at that time, but then were
"very happy" to find out IS had been proclaimed.

Featuring verses from the Quran, the "brief history" of
Islamic State (which according to the publication dates back to
2003), and a list of "ill-founded statements from caliphate
opponents," the magazine also has a number of photographs of
heavily armed bearded men with IS black flags, not all of whom
are hiding their faces.

In April, Iraq and Syria, where IS had been advancing its
offensive, were named a global training ground for extremists by
experts. They warned the UN Security Council that some 22,000
foreign fighters from around 100 countries had gone to the area
to join various radical groups.

At the same time, the EU Commissioner for Justice announced that
between 5,000 and 6,000 Europeans have traveled to Syria to fight
in IS militants ranks, although "the figures are strongly
under-estimated," EU officials said, stressing that foreign
fighters are hard to keep track of.

Last year, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a
resolution demanding all member states to make it a serious
criminal offense for their citizens to travel abroad to fight
with extremists or support them. Although the resolution was
adopted in the wake of IS’ rise, it targets fighters traveling to
conflicts anywhere in the world.